DCNR hosts heated meeting over dock permits at East Branch Lake

WILCOX- Several members of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) hosted a public meeting with dock patrons of the East Branch Lake at the The Dam Inn Bar and Grill in Wilcox.

The issue of dock permits between DCNR and dock patrons has been a long and extensive process lasting several years, and the two parties will try to continue to work towards a solution in the near future.

The East Branch Lake is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of a lock and flood control system for the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers. This vast lake has a surface area of 1,160 acres and a shoreline of approximately 19.5 miles.

The entire shoreline is bordered by Elk State Park, Pennsylvania State Game Lands, and federal lands.

Additionally, two miles of the shoreline is in close proximity to privately owned land, and such land is subdivided into approximately 60 properties which might be classified as “lakefront.”

As for the dock information for 2023, there are three areas at Elk State Park that are designated as docks spaces. Currently, 45 out of 51 spaces are occupied at the Army Corps of Engineers, with a total of 19 people on the waitlist.

Another occupied area is Swamp Creek, which has 43 dock spaces and 35 are currently occupied, with 17 people currently on the waitlist.

The last dock space at the state park is Instanter, having 34 spaces open and 14 are currently occupied, and 11 people are currently on the waitlist.

Since repairs began on the dam in 2008, no new dock permits have been issued. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced its intent to return to operations before their work began at the lake in October of 2020.

When this work was ongoing, the water level at the dam was lowered 20 feet for safety measures, and DCNR has previously stated that they would not issue dock permits until the dam was repaired and back to normal pool level.

Normal pool level at the dam was established in 2022, and this year, DNCR allowed dock permits to be issued. These permits are valid from April 1, 2023 to November 3, 2023, and allows the permittee to install their boat dock at Elk State Park.

However, the permit does not allow mooring or launching of watercraft.

Some of the central issues that the owners of the lots fronting the East Branch Lake previously had with DCNR was for permitting the owners of lakefront lots to locate a dock adjacent to their lot. The argument for lot owners against this ruling is that this impairs lot values and diminishes efforts to regulate activity along the lake.

They also are against allocating dock permits on a “first come, first serve” basis without regard to lot ownership, as well as prohibiting swimming with the exception of having designated swimming areas. In the dock manual that was issued by DCNR to dock patrons for 2023, it was stated that the initial assignments of individual dock permits are still based on a first come first serve basis in the three dock spaces at East Branch Lake, which lot owners have had a long standing issue with.

Additionally, individual dock permits are only allowed to be issued in the individual’s name or married persons only. No other family members or joint owners of a property are permitted to file for an individual dock permit in their name.

Docks must be in place by May 31, 2024 and be positioned perpendicular to the shoreline for the duration of the permit. If a dock is not installed by this date, it will result in the cancellation of the individual’s permit with a refund unless approved by the Park Manager.

The construction of a floating dock must meet the minimum size of six feet long by ten feet wide, with the

maximum measurement being 10 feet wide by 16 feet long.

The Elk Private Dock Rate for a resident is $80 per slip plus a $6.50 fee for 2023, with the Elk Mooring Rate totaling $54.50 per slip plus a $6.50 fee. For non residents, these rates increase by $10 and $12 respectively with the same fees a resident would pay.

Those that were in attendance for this meeting had questions over a number of concerns to Jared Fencil, who is the assistant regional manager for DCNR's bureau of state parks in region one.

These concerns directed at Fencil included the amount of space between dock patrons who have obtained a permit, along with lot owners not being granted an automatic dock permit to all individuals who developed property at the dam, specifically those with docks in front of their property. Because of this, some docks will need to be moved.

“The number one complaint was about people not maintaining their docks,” a patron said. “How is someone expected to maintain a dock when it's not in their sight of view?”

Fencil responded to this inquiry by saying that issuing of dock permits is a public program that anybody has access to through a waitlist to get onto and off of.

“I know that this is not the desire of the group, but that's where we are at with this program,” Fencil said.

The reasoning for the movement of some docks from the DCNR presentation was to alleviate spacing issues throughout the East Branch Lake mooring areas.

Some dock patrons will be asked to move their docks a minimum of 20 to 35 feet, and a maximum of 100 to 150 feet.

Any additional information or questions and concerns can be directed to the Kinzua Bridge State Park at kinzuabridgesp@pa.gov.